Pumpkin Spice Latte
by Sherlocked95
Summary: A short ficlet based on artwork that the wonderful tazilp did for my birthday. Merlin is terrible at making coffee. But Arthur doesn't keep coming back for the drinks.


_I should be working. I should not be staring at the customer's ass_.

Merlin pauses in the process of adding foam to a complicated coffee order to glance at the tall blond heading out of the coffee shop. _It really is a great ass, though_. He's certain Gwen will forgive him for ogling a customer as cute as Arthur Pendragon.

_Albion_ is a pretty small coffee shop to some of the big chain shops that have opened up in town recently, but it still has its fair share of customers, including some regulars. Arthur is one of those regulars. He'd come in three months previously and Merlin hasn't been the same since. Tall, lean, with scruffy blonde hair, gorgeous blue eyes and those adorable crooked teeth...Merlin is willing to admit it, he was ass over elbows for the guy with just one look.

That isn't to say Arthur is as lovely as his looks. Sometimes he can be a really arrogant dick. His moods swing from sulky, rude and egotistical – and Merlin is often on the receiving end of such moods, with pouts and insults from Arthur, though he always snarks back with a cheerful grin – to downright _lovely_ and charming.

Merlin likes to think it was his coffee that made Arthur return to the shop after that first time and the reason he keeps coming back, despite their being big brand shops just round the street with a bigger selection. Arthur had come in with the prettiest scowl possible on his face and had grunted something about 'coffee, black two sugars'. Merlin had snapped out of his ogling (seriously, that ass should be illegal) and whipped up one of his specials: Earl Grey tea with vanilla syrup. He'd even given it to Arthur on the house.

(Gwen has warned him about that several times; he's not allowed to give the gorgeous customers free drinks.)

Arthur had actually appeared to like it and has come back almost every day ever since. Gwen even told him that he tended to leave if Merlin wasn't on shift and come back when he saw he was, implying that no one could make Arthur's drinks the way he liked them other than Merlin. He takes massive personal pride in this.

"Excuse me?" the redhead on the other side of the counter huffs and Merlin realises he's been staring down at the coffee cup in his hand with a goofy smile on his face.

"Sorry," he offers a bright smile that she doesn't seem to appreciate and hands the cup.

Arthur never appreciated that cheerful smile to begin with either, but after chatting away endlessly and calling Arthur a _prat_ whenever he was rude to him, he became much more friendly after a few weeks. Merlin would even call them friends.

* * *

One of the reasons people still popped into _Albion_ rather than the big brands nearby was that, though they offered seasonal drinks, their menus were never quite as vast as _Albion_'s. Merlin likes to experiment with drinks, loves realising that peppermint syrup in _that _drink is delicious but hazelnut syrup in the other one doesn't quiet work. So at Christmas, there's a whole menu dedicated to seasonal drinks, from black forest hot chocolate to Merlin's Jingle Bells Snowball.

In October, he loves coming up with the perfect pumpkin concoctions. Some go down well...others, not so much. But he loves Halloween and he's trying to convince Gwen to let the employees wear costumes on Halloween to work when he notices Arthur walk into the shop. She rolls her eyes when he drops the conversation in favour of smiling at Arthur as he walks right up to the counter.

"Morning, Arthur," he greets. "How are you?"

Arthur simply nods and Merlin's smile fades. It's going to be one of _those_ days. He wonders what's happened to put a twist in Arthur's knickers this time but doesn't comment, instead watches as Arthur studies the October menu, squinting to try and work out Merlin's admittedly terrible scrawl.

"What's Merlin's Wizard's Brew?" he asks after a moment.

"Secret recipe."

"Then I definitely won't have one of those."

"_Hey_!" he says, indignant.

"Pumpkin spice latte?"

Merlin nods and focuses on fixing the drink. He knows better than to put it in one of the shop's quaint, mismatched mugs, instead pouring it in a takeaway cup; Arthur never stays in the shop to drink his coffee. He's always on the go, whether it be going to or from work, walking his dog, or jogging.

He hands over the cup and Arthur gives him the precise amount for the latte.

"Thanks," Arthur mutters.

"Thanks," Merlin repeats, smiling. "Come again." It's their usual parting line to their customers and Merlin insists on saying it to Arthur every time, despite knowing he _will _come back. It's worth it just to see Arthur's roll of the eyes and small, indulgent smile.

Arthur doesn't smile this time, simply nods, and he almost looks _nervous_. He turns and heads away from the counter. Merlin refuses to be disappointed and spins to continue his conversation with Gwen, almost colliding with one of the coffee machines in the process. Gwen shakes her head at him but the expression on her face is warm.

"So, like I was saying, I really think it'll help keep employee spirits up if we can have a bit of fun. I mean, tell me I wouldn't make an _awesome_ wizard. Look me right in the eyes and tell me..."

"For the record, your coffee sucks."

Merlin blinks, surprised at the sound of Arthur's voice since he usually leaves after he has his coffee. He turns away from Gwen's knowing smile to face his favourite customer.

"I'm sorry?"

"Your coffee," Arthur repeats. "It's terrible."

"Oh," Merlin's heart sinks in his chest. "But I thought..."

"I haven't been coming back here almost every day for the coffee, Merlin."

Merlin can feel his cheeks heating up. "Oh. So...?" He's trying not to show how hopeful he is, but if Arthur hasn't been coming for the coffee, then it must be to see _him_.

"Here," Arthur holds out his coffee cup with a charming smile.

Merlin takes the empty cup and looks down at it in confusion for a moment. Arthur rolls his eyes and turns the cup over in his hands so Merlin can see the message Arthur's quickly scribbled on the side in black Biro.

_You're cute.  
Also I forgot to tip.  
Close your eyes?_

Merlin smiles, warmth filling him, and leans on the counter, obediently closing his eyes. He can feel Arthur's fingers against his bare forearm as he also leans on the counter and then there's the press of lips against his.

In his fantasies, kissing Arthur had been tongues and heat, but right now, it's the small, sweet brush of lips, chaste but perfect. It's enough for Merlin's heartbeat to quicken and his toes to curl in his boots. He pulls back, beaming, and notices that Arthur's blushing too, but he meets Merlin's gaze with a slow grin.

"I'll pick you up after your shift tomorrow?"

"Perfect."

* * *

**So a couple of months ago for my birthday, the wonderful and ridiculously talented Lesty (tazilp) created a brilliant comic for my birthday as a gift. If you'd like to see it, you can find it on my tumblr or on her's - her url is tazilp. **

**I've finally managed to find the time to create a quick ficlet based on it and here it is.**

**I have a tumblr: dontbeobviousmoriarty**

**I'm currently accepting prompts for Merlin (and Teen Wolf), up until the middle of December. So if you'd like to see something written, feel free to leave a prompt in my tumbr askbox, or just pop in and say hello :)**


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